A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
The means of Da'wah (calling to Allah).
The means of Da'wah encompass every legitimate method that leads to achieving the goals of Da'wah.
Such as establishing Tawhid, warning against Shirk and its precursors.
Explaining acts of worship and how to perform them.
Explaining noble character and encouraging it.
Explaining base character and warning against it.
The fundamental principle regarding these means is permissibility.
So long as no evidence exists to prohibit them.
Da'wah through exhortation (Wa'z).
Exhortation is the planting of the fear of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, in the heart of the servant.
This is achieved by knowing Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, His Beautiful Names, and their effects.
And by knowing His commands and prohibitions.
Sometimes through encouragement and other times through warning, according to the condition of the people.
Which results in fear of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, hope in Him, and love for Him.
This bears the fruit of performing what is commanded and abandoning what is forbidden.
Seeking nearness to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and desiring His pleasure and Paradise.
Exhortation, in this sense, is not limited to a single topic.
Rather, it should be present in and encompass all Islamic sciences, serving as a foundation for them.
Whether in the study of creed, transactions, or acts of worship.
It should be present in every sermon, lesson, exhortation, and dialogue.
Whoever contemplates the verses of the Noble Qur'an will find that exhortation is the very substance of the Qur'an.
Therefore, Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, described the Qur'an as an exhortation.
He, the Exalted, said:
“O mankind! There hath come unto you an exhortation from your Lord, a balm for that which is in the breasts, a guidance and a mercy for believers.” (10:57)
And as guidance and mercy for the believers.
One who contemplates many of the commands and prohibitions will observe,
Whether in creed, legal rulings, or transactions,
That they are concluded or initiated with exhortation and reminders of the greatness of Allah, the Exalted, and His Beautiful Names.
And with warnings regarding the Hereafter and the reward and punishment therein.
The correct concept of exhortation also,
Is that which combines encouragement and warning.
Without one aspect overshadowing the other.
Allah, the Exalted, said:
“Naught is said unto thee (Muhammad) save what was said unto the messengers before thee. Lo! thy Lord is owner of forgiveness, and owner (also) of dire punishment.” (41:43)
Paradise is rarely mentioned in the Qur'an,
Except that the Fire is mentioned alongside it.
Beneficial exhortation.
Beneficial exhortation.
Is that which includes, as previously mentioned,
The method of encouragement and warning.
And the combination of fear and hope.
Beneficial exhortations,
Are those that adhere to the guidance of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in exhortation.
And avoid newly invented and innovative methods.
Among the most important features of the Prophetic guidance in exhortation:
First:
Sincerity in one's exhortation for the sake of Allah, the Exalted.
And that he does not seek fame or praise through his exhortation.
Or any worldly gain.
Second:
That he does not speak except with knowledge and evidence.
And he must beware of speaking about Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, without knowledge.
Like those who use fabricated and weak hadiths as evidence.
Or Israelite narrations, strange reports, and false stories.
Third:
That he should choose appropriate times for exhortation so as not to cause boredom.
Fourth:
That he should avoid raising his voice and affected humility.
Fifth:
That the one exhorting should be a role model in his demeanor, conduct, worship, and creed.
Sixth:
That he should prepare the points of his exhortation before delivering it.
So that the benefit is realized without distraction or unnecessary prolongation.
Seventh:
That the goal of every exhortation should be two fundamental matters.
The first:
Introducing people to their Lord, His Beautiful Names, and His Exalted Attributes.
And the resulting magnification, love,
Fear, and hope.
And other actions of the heart.
The second:
Teaching people their individual religious obligations regarding commands and prohibitions.
And the resulting reward and punishment.
Eighth:
That he should avoid affectation in dress and adorning himself for people before the exhortation.
Ninth:
That he should not take payment from people for his exhortation.
This includes the affectation and extravagance in travel expenses,
Whether for transportation, food, or lodging,
Paid by those inviting the preacher.
Media.
Media is one of the greatest means of Da'wah to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
The enemies have utilized it and spent vast sums of money on it,
To divert people from the path of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon those who call to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
To give it the utmost attention in clarifying the truth to people.
And in exposing falsehood and its proponents.
Media includes the written, audible, and visual word.
Especially what has emerged in our time after the internet revolution.
With its many and varied forms of influence on people.
Such as social media platforms.
And short, purposeful clips.
Both visual and audible.
And documentary films.
And tweets and analyses.
And the broadcasting of lessons and lectures.
And other forms of new media.
Among the most important media means that distinguish Muslims,
Is the Friday sermon.
Therefore, these sermons must be invested in clarifying the truth to people.
And exhorting them and warning them against falsehood and its proponents.
And explaining the lawful and the prohibited to them.
Especially since the sermon in Islam,
Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has made it obligatory to listen to and pay attention to it.
And that we should not be distracted from it by any preoccupation.
Such as talking or touching pebbles and the like.
Enjoining good and forbidding evil.
The concept of this ritual.
Enjoining people to do good from the obligations of the religion,
Its recommended acts, and its noble character.
And forbidding them from prohibitions and base character.
Encouraging them to do good.
And warning them against doing evil.
Islam has paid great attention to this ritual.
And made it the safety valve for the Muslim society.
It is obligatory upon everyone capable of bringing about change.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand;
If he cannot, then with his tongue;
If he cannot, then with his heart,
And that is the weakest of faith."
Narrated by Muslim.
Justice and moderation in enjoining good and forbidding evil.
The Shari'ah has regulated enjoining and forbidding with guidelines,
Making it a means to spread goodness and what Allah loves and is pleased with.
And to prevent evil—that which Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, dislikes—or to mitigate it.
And to restrain the hands of the corrupt and prevent them from spreading their corruption.
Based on the foregoing,
Enjoining good should be done in a good manner.
And forbidding evil should not be done in an evil manner.
Meaning that the enjoining and forbidding must achieve their intended purpose.
If forbidding an evil results in an evil,
And a greater corruption, then it is not permissible to forbid it.
And if enjoining good results in an evil,
And a greater corruption, then this enjoining should be abandoned.
Conversely, enjoining and forbidding should not be abandoned,
Due to a vague fear of strife or corruption that might result from it.
The concept of justice in enjoining and forbidding, therefore,
Is the moderation between those who neglect enjoining and forbidding,
For fear of strife and the resulting imagined corruptions,
As held by the Murji'ah and the people of immorality and corruption.
And those who do not consider the interests, corruptions, and consequences of enjoining and forbidding,
As is the case with the Khawarij and those influenced by them.
The goal of enjoining and forbidding is as He, the Exalted, said:
“And when a community among them said: Why preach ye to a folk whom Allah is about to destroy or punish with an awful doom, they said: In order to be free from guilt before your Lord, and that haply they may ward off (evil).” (7:164)
Since guiding people and returning them to the truth are among the goals of enjoining and forbidding,
It is necessary to adopt means that help them accept the truth.
Such as gentleness, compassion for them, mercy, and tact.
And enjoining and forbidding should not be for the sake of personal victory,
Or to demonstrate dominance and hostility.
Among what wisdom and gentleness toward the one being enjoined require,
Is gradualism in reform and change.
For one who has spent most of his life in disbelief or immorality,
Should not be demanded to change all his violations at once.
He may be unable to do so; rather, one should begin with the most important, then the important.
As mentioned in the hadith of Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him,
When the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent him,
To the People of the Scripture in Yemen.
He said to him: "Call them to testify,
That there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah.
If they obey you in that,
Then inform them that Allah has obligated upon them,
Five prayers in the day and night."
The hadith was narrated by Muslim.
Regarding this, Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
Just as one entering Islam,
Cannot, upon his entry, be taught all its laws,
And be commanded to perform them all.
Likewise, the one repenting from sins,
And the student seeking guidance,
Cannot, at the beginning, be commanded with the entire religion,
And be told all knowledge.
For he cannot bear that.
And if he cannot bear it, it is not obligatory upon him in this state.
And if it is not obligatory,
It is not for the scholar or the ruler to make it all obligatory from the start.
Rather, he should overlook the enjoining and forbidding,
Of what cannot be known or practiced until the time of possibility.
And this is not a matter of condoning prohibitions,
Or abandoning the enjoining of obligations.
Because obligation and prohibition,
Are conditioned by the possibility of knowledge and action.
Being a good role model in Da'wah.
One of the most important things that influences those being called,
Is for the caller to be a good role model for them.
This is in his pure understanding of the religion and its fundamental principles.
And his being a role model for them in his conduct, character, and acts of worship.
When the caller is such,
He influences people,
And Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, grants him acceptance among them.
Exhortational and educational tours.
These are where some callers head to some villages, rural areas, and remote places,
For the purpose of teaching people in those places,
The foundations of their religion, their acts of worship, and their character.
They live with them for several days,
To teach them and answer their questions,
And warn them against the evils of innovations and bad character.
Da'wah among relatives and family activities.
By this, we mean Da'wah among members of the small family or the clan.
And raising their awareness in matters of their religion.
And warning them against evils and corruption,
Especially that which is directed toward Muslim women,
And the attempt to strip them of their religion and westernize them.
Thus, da'wah activities within families are essential to fortify them by all means,
Whether through instructional talks or competitions,
Or the distribution of targeted booklets,
Or the distribution of scholars' opinions on issues affecting the concepts of correct 'aqidah (creed),
And the rulings of the lawful and the prohibited.
Da'wah through creating righteous environments.
This method is among the most successful, beneficial, and rapid means of da'wah,
And for correcting and rooting concepts.
Because living in righteous environments influences those who dwell within them,
Through the role models they see and the committed Islamic atmosphere,
And the benefits of Islamic knowledge that permeate such settings,
And the cooperation in performing acts of worship and their supererogatory forms.
For a person is more active in collective environments than when living alone.
Examples of righteous environments include:
Hajj and 'Umrah trips and long journeys,
Circles for memorizing and contemplating the Qur'an,
And other such collective activities.
Jihad in the path of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
Jihad in the path of Allah, the Exalted, comes at the pinnacle of the means of da'wah,
Especially when those who obstruct the path of Allah, the Exalted, stand in the way,
And prevent the truth from reaching the people.
Thus, Jihad comes to remove and dismantle those who stand between the people and the religion of truth,
So that people may know this religion in its true form,
And enjoy entering into it.
Da'wah through mutual exhortation to the truth and mutual exhortation to patience.
The Almighty said: ﴾By time, indeed mankind is in loss﴿.
“Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.” (103:3)
From the plural form, "and they exhort one another to the truth and exhort one another to patience,"
It is understood that da'wah to the truth,
Requires the cooperation of reformers, their gathering, consultation, and organization among themselves.
It is not sufficient to rely on individual da'wah.
Regarding this, Allah, the Exalted, says:
﴾And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good﴿.
And the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"A group of my Ummah will continue to be manifest upon the truth,
They will not be harmed by those who forsake them,
Until the command of Allah comes while they are in that state."
Narrated by Muslim.
Therefore, the establishment of a group that mutually exhorts one another to the truth and invites to it,
Is among the most important means and methods of da'wah to Allah.
For the enemies fight the religion of Islam and its people through cooperation and planning among themselves,
And they devise malicious plans for this.
Thus, it is not appropriate to confront them with individual efforts,
Rather, a collective confrontation is necessary.
The Clear Proclamation (al-Balagh al-Mubin).
The Clear Proclamation is based on two fundamental clarifications:
First:
Clarifying the path of the believers,
By explaining their creed and the rulings of their religion regarding their acts of worship and their dealings.
Second:
Clarifying the path of the criminals, their deception, and their methods,
And their plans to obstruct the path of Allah,
Whether they are disbelievers or hypocrites.
Without knowledge of these two paths and clarifying them to the people,
There is no proclamation and no effective da'wah.
Righteous leadership.
With the existence of righteous leadership and the Rightly-Guided Caliphate,
The proclamation and the clarification of the truth to the people are completed,
Whether that is by the tongue or the sword.
For without righteous leadership and the Rightly-Guided Caliphate,
The proclamation will remain limited.
As it has come in the athar (tradition):
"Allah restrains through the authority what He does not restrain through the Qur'an."
Da'wah through dialogue.
Dialogue is one of the beneficial methods for conveying the truth,
And it usually takes place between two parties.
Dialogue is the act of reviewing,
Meaning that one of the two parties, or both,
Attempts to return the other to what he perceives as the truth.
It is of two types:
First: Dialogue between a scholar and a learner,
In which the scholar aims to clarify the truth,
With its evidence, to the one ignorant of it.
Usually, the learner submits to what the scholar says.
Second:
Dialogue between two parties differing on a matter,
Where each of them clarifies the correctness of his position with the evidence he possesses.
The goal of this dialogue is:
Each party inviting the other to his opinion with evidence.
It is considered successful if the two parties agree on one opinion,
Or if they do not agree,
But it becomes clear to each party that the matter they differed upon is open to disagreement,
And does not lead to division and hostility,
As in matters of ijtihad (independent legal reasoning),
And the difference in assessing interests and harms.
The etiquette and regulations of dialogue.
In the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
There is a verse that includes three main points of etiquette,
Which Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, has exhorted us with,
And dialogue should proceed from them,
So that its fruit may be effective and beneficial.
Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, said:
﴾Say, "I only advise you of one [thing]—
that you stand for Allah, [seeking truth] in pairs and individually, and then give thought."﴿
The first etiquette is in His saying, "that you stand for Allah,"
And standing for Allah means detachment and sincerity in seeking the truth,
And submitting to it, and ridding oneself of defending the ego and being biased toward desires.
The second etiquette is in His saying, "in pairs and individually,"
This means that dialogue and thinking should be between a person and himself, individually,
Or between one party and another, in pairs,
And that the dialogue should not be in a gathering of people,
Because the truth is lost in public atmospheres,
And it is difficult for the soul to submit to the truth in front of people.
As for between two individuals, it is more conducive to submitting to the truth.
The third etiquette is in His saying, "and then give thought,"
Meaning each party employs his intellect after detachment,
And thinks about the evidence he has and the evidence the other party has,
And which of them is more deserving of being correct.
This requires that one does not speak in support of what he holds except with knowledge,
And that one does not declare his companion wrong except with knowledge.
Inter-religious dialogue and rapprochement between them.
This concept has been put forward in the last two decades,
And those who put it forward intend a dangerous implication,
Aiming to validate the religion of the Christians and the Jews,
And the convergence of Islam with these religions through belief in one God,
And agreement on being affiliated with Abraham, peace be upon him.
This is a dangerous concept in which they have used,
The term "rapprochement between religions,"
And the term "Abrahamic religion,"
Which, in their claim, unites Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
Whoever believes in these terms invalidates his faith in Islam,
As it validates these polytheistic religions and recognizes them,
While in the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
There is no religion except Islam, which is the religion of Tawhid (monotheism).
“Lo! religion with Allah (is) the Surrender (to His Will and Guidance). Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of Allah (will find that) lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.” (3:19)
﴾And whoever desires other than Islam as religion - never will it be accepted from him﴿.
“And whoso seeketh as religion other than the Surrender (to Allah) it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter.” (3:85)
The correct concept of dialogue with distorted religions,
Is a dialogue between a Muslim and a disbeliever.
“These twain (the believers and the disbelievers) are two opponents who contend concerning their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, garments of fire will be cut out for them; boiling fluid will be poured down on their heads,” (22:19)
The verse of Al 'Imran, which was revealed regarding the Christians of Najran, clarifies,
The dialogue that took place between them and the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And his invitation to them to Tawhid,
And his clarification of their beliefs and their shirk (polytheism).
Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, said to His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
“Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).” (3:64)
“Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).” (3:64)
“Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).” (3:64)
﴾Then if they turn away, say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Allah]."﴿
This is the correct concept of dialogue with the people of disbelieving religions,
Whether Judaism, Christianity, or others,
And that is by inviting them to Tawhid,
And not to recognize them and their books.